First ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ Trailer Teases a Whole New Wizarding Experience

As promised, Warner Bros. debuted the first official trailer for their magical sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald yesterday. David Yates returned to direct the sequel with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling responsible for the script. The Crimes of Grindelwald takes place shortly after the events of the original film in Paris, as Grindelwald has kept his promise and escaped custody. Set on gaining followers to rule over non-magical beings, Hogwarts Professor Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander in an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plan.

I really enjoyed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them because of how different it was from the Harry Potter saga. I was looking forward to what a sequel could be, until news bits came out that made it feel like a Dumbledore prequel. While that could still be the case, I feel much better about this sequel after seeing this trailer.

What’s best about this trailer is that it very much felt like a spy thriller inside a Harry Potter movie. What? Yeah. As I said in our trailer reaction yesterday, it felt as if Jude Law’s Dumbledore is playing the M to Eddie Redmayne’s Scamander 007. I love that, when we see a genre inside a genre. Whether or not it’ll pay off, we’re not sure, but at this moment in time it looks like it’s going to a fun and exciting sequel, one that I’m now very much looking forward to.

Check out the first official trailer below and after doing so, head down to the comments and leave your thoughts! How excited are you for another magical movie? Do you like the story idea? Are you looking forward to seeing Jude Law and Johnny Depp in there roles? Yates’ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be released on November 16th and also stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, and Ezra Miller.

At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.